It is 14 days into March, and we all know what that means...HitsuHina oneshot. FLUFF warning. Sequel to "Could It Be?" Songfic song by Michelle Branch. Happy Birthday to M.JasperWhitlock! My Seme-san and BFFL!

Okay finally here it is! That sequel to Could It Be? that I promised you all. If you have not read the first story you might want to check it out before this one. Okay and once again, I do not own Bleach because as you all know I am not Tite Kubo-sama and neither are you (right?)

A cold breeze drifted through the window in the corner of the room, filling the office with clean, refreshing air.

Hinamori remembered when the breezes had been cool and wintry, like they were last month. They had been chilly, but slightly warm and had symbolized the springtime weather that had surely been on its way twenty-nine days ago.

However, a completely unexpected blizzard had appeared out of nowhere three days earlier, and the damages of the storm still lingered in Soul Society. By the second day, the storm had finished wreaking its havoc, and had ceased, but had started up again that morning.

She had finished her daily paperwork in a rush, because she thought that the snow would hold off long enough for her to meet up with her friend like they had promised they would. But it seemed that the snow had begun to fall harder and they might not be able to get together.

Hinamori set the pile of completed papers near the door for someone to come by and pick them up, as she always did. She went over to the open window and leaned against the wall there, gazing out into the endless white. Small white puffs of cotton-like balls descended from the heavens, re-coating the snow that had already fallen.

Hinamori sighed, it was too late in the season for so much snow to fall, and there was only about one week left until Spring began; she saw no need for all of this snow. The memories of the green valleys and dripping forest flooded back into her mind. When everything had been new and tender, and the snow and ice was just beginning to vanish, it had all come back in a matter of days.

Now, she imagined that the secret forest was blanketed in a thick, brand new layer of snow, and it would probably take a few more weeks until it all malted away again. Hinamori wondered if she were still going to meet Hitsugaya, for neither of them had counted on another snow after the blizzard. By the position of the sun, she could tell that it was almost noon, and they were supposed to meet up half an hour after noon, outside of her division's building.

Last month on St. Valentine's Day, he had promised her that he would take her back to their secret place but by the looks of the weather, she did not know if he would be able to keep that promise.

She blinked her eyes as she realized that she had almost fallen asleep, and she shook her head to clear it. It was probably a few moments after noon when she decided that she was going to leave then, and show up early to meet him.

She seized her green scarf and the gift that she had made her friend for St. White's Day as she left her office, and slid the door closed behind her. She gazed out over the balcony that lay outside of her office; the cold snow covered her in a freezing gust of wind. She glanced down at the small snowflake shape in her palm. Never again would anyone be able to say that no two snowflakes were alike, for she had carved this so very carefully to match the pattern of the snowflake on the hairpin he had given to her for the holiday of the prior month.

A small white ribbon was tied firmly to the end of the charm, she figured it should be white because it was tradition. She found the small pocket on her hakama and placed the small trinket into the material. She shivered and quickly wrapped the scarf around her neck, although she feared that nothing could keep the cold away from her now.

Hinamori considered retreating into the building once again, and using the stairs, but then she recalled her goal. She had set a goal for herself that she would get used to the cold and never complain about it or turn away from it. She swore that she would get used to the cold so that she could become closer to the ice king of Soul Society and hopefully relate to him.

She stayed put for a moment and closed her eyes, breathing in the cool air slowly. Although her eyes were shut, she could faintly see the darkness sealed away behind her eyelids. She smiled as the image of her best friend came to her mind.

Hitsugaya Toshiro had been her very dearest friend ever since they were small and she prayed that they would share that relationship forevermore. The thought of the boy she loved captivated her and she snapped her eyes open, gasping.

It was at that moment that she realized that the old saying was true; the one that you love really can leave you breathless.

Can't you see?

There's a feeling that's come over me

Close my eyes

You're the only one that leaves me completely breathless

Hinamori raced through the empty, snowy streets, she was on her way to the 10th division's building.

Although they were supposed to meet outside of her building, she figured that she would save her friend the trouble of walking all of that way there. And besides, he was late, so she figured that she would save him the time of running all the way to her building.

Hinamori swiftly rounded a corner and experienced a complete déjà vu. She collided, full force with a certain white-haired taichou who had been running as well and his greater momentum flung her backwards about five feet onto the white, frozen ground.

Hitsugaya stood dazed for a moment, and then seemed to realize exactly what had happened and stepped forward, reaching down his hand.

"Gomenasai." He repeated his line in the familiar scene. As her cold hand was shakily placed in his, he tightened his grip and pulled her up. She smiled at him and then smirked.

"Arigatou, Hitsugaya taichou." At first he just stood there and stared at her dumbfounded, he wondered if she were mad at him, and was being sarcastic by calling him his proper title. Truthfully, it worried him when she did not call him a nickname or tease him, for he thought that she was upset with him. But then he understood that she was only joking when she began to laugh. He gave her a small smile and then sighed dramatically.

"Oy, isn't this the second time that we've been in this situation?" He asked. She grinned and nodded her head to him.

"Sumimasen, demo you didn't come on time and so I thought something was wrong, so I was on my way to come and see if everything was alright." She explained.

Hinamori slowly felt around in her hakama's pocket to make sure that the small item was still there. Hitsugaya did not seem to notice; for he was too preoccupied in noticing that she was still wearing the hairpin he had given to her the month before. She had told him that she would always wear it, but he had never taken her seriously. Satisfied in knowing that she still had the present with her, Hinamori smiled and Hitsugaya cocked his head.

"N-Nani?" He asked half-afraid to know the answer. But she just shook her head, dismissing the topic.

"So," She changed the subject. "Are we still going? Because with this weather it doesn't look like we-"

"Of course we are." He cut her off. "If I said we were going to go there, then we're going to go there. That was a promise." It took her a moment to fully understand the meaning of his words; he was basically saying that he would never break a promise to her.

"Hai." She finally nodded in agreement. "Demo, how are we going to get there?"

She glanced around at the falling snow that had only seemed to fall even harder when she looked at it. Hitsugaya only smiled and shook his head and Hinamori knew that she would have been better off not to have asked at all. He was Soul Society's king of ice, water, and everything in between. But the answer he gave her was not the one that she anticipated; in fact it was not much of an answer at all.

"Hinamori," He said. "Do you remember what you always used to tell me when we were little? The one wish you told me almost every day?"

It seemed that he had gotten quite annoyed with it because she had brought it up so often. Hinamori thought back for a moment, trying to remember something that she would always say to him, enough to make him as annoyed as he was by just remembering it.

"Oh I remember! It was when we always used to watch the sun set. And all the birds would fly by in front of the sun. I wished that I could…fly…"

Her eyes widened and she stared at him in disbelief. He was smiling, nodding his head up and down slowly, as of he had just won something worth smiling over. Actually, it was less of a smile that resided on his face, but more like a smirk, and his eyes were half closed as he stared at her. Hinamori could only gape in awe, how could he let her fly?

Then, her eyes snapped open even wider as the answer came to her. "No way."

No need to wonder why

Sometimes a gift like this you can't deny

Hitsugaya gripped the hilt of his Zanpakutou and unsheathed the blade.

"Dai Guren Hyorinmaru!" He called out above the windy echoes of the snow. The colossal ice dragon seemed to form from the surrounding snow and ice as it shaped itself gradually in the cold air.

Hitsugaya stood patiently with Hinamori as the dragon finally took his appearance, his crimson eyes were the only things that actually made him visible in the camouflaging blizzard. Hitsugaya then carefully climbed upon the mighty beast's back, and the creature lowered his chest to the ground to allow his master passage onto his crystallized body.

Once Hitsugaya had gotten onto his back, he glanced expectantly down at Hinamori but she did not seem to eager to copy his actions. She stared up at the dragon in wonder and awe, almost as if she had never seen him before. But, she had never seen the beast so closely up, and now as she got a good look at the fearsome creature, and gazed into his burning crimson eyes, an eerie shiver ran down her spine.

"Come on!" Hitsugaya called. "He won't bite, I promise!" He let out a small laugh, and a rumble of what seemed to be agreement gurgled from the beast's throat.

Hinamori slowly stepped forward and Hitsugaya took her hand and helped her up. Almost instantly after she had stepped onto his back, Hyorinmaru lifted his great wings and pounded the air around him, lifting off of the ground and heading for his master's designated destination.

The motion was so unexpected that Hinamori gasped and almost lost her balance and fell, but her friend's tight grasp on her hand did not allow it. He pulled her farther near to the center of the dragon's back where there was more room, and as she gazed out at the beautiful white world, she smiled and breathed out a sigh.

'Cause I wanted to fly

So you gave me your wings

And time held its breath so I could see, yeah

And you set me free

Hitsugaya had finally convinced her that it was all right to sit down.

She had been fretful and thought that sitting on the dragon's back would be disrespectful.

"Baka, you're thinking and worrying too much. Just sit down." He had sighed.

Now, she knelt shakily near the dragon's icy spine and took in the scene around her. Everything in her view was either white or blue, snow or ice. All was silent except for the steady thudding of huge wings hammering the Wintry air.

Hitsugaya stood near the icy beast's wings and stared out over the landscapes down below, and Hinamori dared not say anything, for she did not want to offend him or say anything foolish. He looked as though he were remembering things that he did not want disrupted, so she stayed quiet and just stared at the silent cities of Soul Society.

The streets were becoming more and more deserted, with more run-down buildings and more trees and forests. Hinamori tightened the scarf around her cold skin and shuffled her hands, entwining her fingers and breathing in her palms to keep every once of warmth in her body.

It seemed that it only took them five minutes to arrive at the barrier, whereas when walking like last time, it seemed to have taken hours. Once they could sense the barrier, Hyorinmaru slowed his pace and lowered himself back to the snowy ground. Hitsugaya had made it so that only he and Hinamori would know where the barrier was, for if anyone else could sense it, their secret world would be destroyed.

Hitsugaya wordlessly hopped off of the dragon's back, and Hinamori soon followed. The beast turned to face the two of them, and for the first time in what seemed an hour, Hitsugaya spoke. "Arigatou, Hyorinmaru." He said simply. The dragon slowly bobbed his head in acknowledgement, and then Hinamori gave her thanks.

"Arigatou gozaimasu." She bowed deeply. The cold creature just blinked and swished his tail before her retreated to the sheath of the sword. Hitsugaya seemed to be back to his old self again, for he turned to Hinamori and gave her a confused, yet amused look.

"What is it with you?" He asked sourly. "You're acting as though he's a king. Hyorinmaru doesn't need to be bowed to every time he gives someone a ride. All the thanks he needs is knowing that he served his purpose. Don't ask me why, but he never really wanted any thanks from anyone."

Hinamori looked crushed at his words but Hitsugaya quickly re-phrased his sentences. "I know you were just trying to show your appreciation, but you just don't have to go overboard is what I'm saying." He mentally smacked himself for not thinking when he spoke to her; everything was coming out wrong.

But she only gave him a small grin and nod and she turned towards the barrier. He passed through the shield with her as if it were not even there, although anyone else would have just kept walking into whatever lay beyond.

As they walked side-by-side through the cold forest, their breath formed before them in thick white puffs. Hinamori was almost sad, because the last time they had been there, there had been so much life, small animals, new plants and buds, trees and mosses. And now it was all white again, as though it were Winter all over again when it was nearly Spring.

As they walked on, the mood between them lightened a great deal and suddenly, they both stopped.

"Okay, I know it's around here somewhere." Hinamori warned.

The aqua-eyed boy nodded and kept his eyes on the ground below, searching for any place where it might fall away…

Suddenly, Hinamori gasped as her feet sank into the snow, and Hitsugaya soon followed with a surprised shout. Once again, the two plummeted down to the valleys below, tumbling over one another. Although the snow cushioned their fall, the small shards of ice and hail did not help in the slightest. Their fall ended with one final bounce, and the two lay there, splayed out in the snow, winded, but this time, Hitsugaya got the worst of the impact.

He had landed on his stomach and Hinamori had wound up lying on top of him, her stomach on his back and from far away they would seem to form somewhat of a 'T' shape; one lying vertically, and the other horizontally.

Hinamori coughed up a mouthful of snow, and Hitsugaya moaned in pain. His face was buried in the snow, and Hinamori's weight on top of him kept it there. Through his own mouthful of snow, Hitsugaya let out a loud, and annoyed grumble.

"Hinamori, would you mind getting off of me?" He said through the ice covering his face. As if just realizing that she had been close to crushing her friend, Hinamori bolted upright and knelt beside him, her arms wrapped over her stomach as if she were going to be sick.

"S-S-Sumimasen." She wheezed. "D-Daijobu desu-ka?" Hitsugaya pushed himself up and shook the snow off of him, spitting out white, icy puffs of fluff.

"Yeah I'm fine." He panted after a moment. "What about you?" He reflected the question when he saw her leaning over like she was about to collapse.

"I'm alright." She lied; the pain in her stomach and chest was killing her.

Although Hitsugaya had sat up, he just laid himself back down a minute afterwards, on his back this time. Hinamori slowly laid herself beside him; carefully making sure that her present for him was still in her pocket. Astoundingly, it was still there, and she thanked whomever it was up in the heavens that was watching over her.

"Every time!" Hitsugaya laughed with a smirk on his face. Hinamori smiled, knowing that he was right. There had not been one time that they visited this place when they did not wind up falling off of that cliff. Only this time there was snow and ice shielding it from sight, so they had an excuse.

The brown haired fukuutaichou shifted about restlessly as the white snow continued to gently drop down from the clouds. She did not know when she should give him the small trinket, for she had never been good with timing. And she did not want to mess up their relationship by doing something that she should not, and secretly, his thoughts were the same.

She wanted to say something, but she knew that if she did it would only make things between them uncomfortable, so she kept quiet for the moment. Then she decided on a better choice of words and hoped that they would be more efficient for her.

"We probably shouldn't stay too long this time." She challenged herself in voicing her thoughts. Thankfully, he responded.

"Yeah, I hear what you're saying. Matsumoto'll find out for sure soon enough if we keep disappearing together like this." Once again he mentally slapped himself, for the last part of the sentence had sounded a bit awkward. But Hinamori only let out a small giggle and her eyes drifted back to the white sky above.

And although it was practically freezing there in the frozen pastures, something deep down inside of her warmed. She stole a glance or two at the white haired boy next to her, staring peacefully up at the clouds. Hinamori could not remember the last time that she had seen him look so serene, if she ever had at all that is.

There's a will

There's a way

Sometimes words just can't explain

This is real I'm afraid

I guess this time there's just no hiding, fighting

You make me restless

You're in my heart

The only light that shines

There in the dark

The sky was beginning to darken; the white of the snow had once matched the color of the cotton clouds.

The bright whiteness of the sky had given off a dusky sort of light, for thick clouds covered the sun and not much light was emitting off of it. Now, the sky was an eerie gray, and the shades of the light dimmed, the snowflakes were also a few shades darker. Hinamori knew that they would have to get going soon, and she wanted to give him his gift before they left.

She sat up and felt around in her pocket, groping for the small, hard object. When her fingers dabbed the points of the snowflake, she tightened her grip on it and pulled it out slowly so that it was out of his sight. By now, he had noticed her sitting up and sat up as well.

"You okay?" He asked.

Panic suddenly overflowed her and she quickly nodded her head. She was so unsure of herself, so nervous, she had never given him anything like thisbefore and she did not know what to say to start off a conversation.

Hitsugaya gave her a confused look, and then felt inside his own hakama's pocket. He had bought her a small white ribbon for St. White's Day, although it was not much, he just had to give her something. He cleared his throat and at the same moment, the two of them spoke out at once.

"I have something for you."

Their voices overlapped and they were left staring puzzled at each other. Then after a moment, Hitsugaya gently slid the ribbon into her palm. A pleased squeak escaped her mouth, accompanied by a misty puff of warm breath hitting cool air. His eyes widened at her excitement, she was acting like he had just given her 108070000000 yen.

"Oh my goodness! Arigatou gozaimasu!" She squealed with an unexpected high pitch. Hitsugaya was so caught off guard with her enthusiasm that he almost fell over when she threw her arms around him. His confused aqua eyes stretched to twice their size and he sat there baffled.

Finally, she pulled back and her bright chestnut eyes glistened with thrill. "You have no idea how long I've wanted a white ribbon!" She beamed. Hitsugaya just shook his head to clear it and quickly replied.

"Um…un…er…you're welcome." He stammered, confused.

But Hinamori seemed not to notice his bewilderment, for she was already tying the ribbon in her hair. She wrapped it around the snowflake hairpin tightly, so that it would not fall off. She smiled with indescribable happiness covering her face, and Hitsugaya just smiled back.

She had always awaited the day that she would find a boyfriend, as well as the St. Valentine's Day when he would give her something to get their relationship going. And the final thing that she awaited was to receive a ribbon for St. White's Day. To her, all of these things meant that the boy she loved truly loved her back, for if he did not, he would do no such things.

Every girl receives that final gift that tells her that her love is true and pure, and now Hinamori was certain that she had gotten hers.

However, Hitsugaya did not really see much value in the thiny bow, but he just smiled; she was happy, that is all that he needed.

When Hinamori had finally finished smiling, she reached into her hakama's pocket and pulled out a tiny, light blue object. It was a snowflake fastened tightly to a small chain, a little white ribbon was tied to the end.

A carefree blush smeared across the girl's face as she slid it into his palm, her frail, cold skin brushing his rough cold hands. He only smiled at her with more affection then she had ever seen in the eyes of any other being.

And at the sight of this affection, Hinamori felt as though her heart was soaring.

'Cause I wanted to fly,

So you gave me your wings,

And time held its breath so I could see

And you set me free

Hitsugaya was somewhat confused, however, he did not know exactly what it was, and he gave her a questioning glance.

Seeming to understand his silent question, Hinamori spoke up.

"Its a charm, Hitsugaya-kun." She explained. "I don't really know if there's anything you can do with it, demo, I just had to get you something. I guess that you could just put it on your desk in your office or something." She finished with a small smile.

Then, it seemed as though Hitsugaya sparked an idea, for he drew his Zanpakutou. He took the hilt in his hands and carefully tied the small charm onto the end. Then, he firmly froze it onto the sword so that it would never come off. It was a lot smaller then had looked before now that it was tied onto the blade's hilt, but Hitsugaya would always remember her when he saw this tiny snowflake.

"You know," He said. "This one looks exactly like the one that I gave you." He pointed out. She nodded.

"Now, no one will be able to say that 'No two snowflakes are alike' ".

"Hai." He replied. "It's almost as though they were meant to be, just like us."

He leaned forward and gently kissed her. She let that moment last a lifetime, and then he pulled away.

"Hey I think we got this whole thing backwards." He said. "Isn't the girl supposed to give the boy something on Valentine's Day and the boy give the girl something on White's Day?" She just giggled and shook her head.

It was beginning to get darker and darker, and the snow was slowing, but it was still cold.

Hinamori was going to suggest that they leave, but she was so tired…

And the next thing either of them knew, they were both fast asleep in the snow.

She was lying on her back in a bed in the 4th division's infirmary; she knew that much. She tried to sit up but could not, she was completely numb and her body refused to obey her. She could not even open her eyes, and she began to panic.

Then, she was aware of the fact that it was difficult to breathe, but it was as if there was something over her mouth pumping oxygen into her, just barely keeping her alive. Memories flashed back into her mind and she automatically remembered exactly what had happened.

Her former taichou impaled by a sword; 'dead'.

Then he was alive again and standing right in front of her, a warm smile, a hand on her head…

And then a sword, intense and indescribable pain, a pool of blood, and then…nothing.

Then, she heard a faint, yet gentle voice, telling her to wake up, and not to leave him.

A boy's hand clasping her own, and then her eyes flew open, and chestnut met aqua for the first time in a very long while.

A cold flurry of snow covered her face and Hinamori jerked herself upright with a start.

Then, she remembered just when and where she was. She was not in that awful coma again; she was not back in the hospital; and she was not under Aizen's control any more. He was gone, and now she only lived for the boy she loved.

She looked to her side, where her friend was still sleeping, un-effected by her sudden awakening. She remembered how he had always been there for her, through the good times and the bad, and only a true, devoted, and loving friend would do half of all that he had done for her. Then her mind came back to the present.

How are we not sick? She wondered.

But then, an exaggerated squeak escaped her as she looked up to the dark, snowy sky; Hitsugaya was awake in an instant.

"N-Nani, Hinamori?" He stammered in confusion.

"H-Hitsugaya-kun! L-Look how long we've stayed here! We've been here all night again!" She chirped. His eyes doubled in size as he realized that she was right.

"Oh damn it, not again." He groaned, slapping his forehead yet again.

"Okay, now we have to think up an excuse." Hinamori pointed out. "For Matsumoto-san I mean."

After a few minutes of pondering, neither could come up with a decent or believable explanation that would satisfy the nosy fukuutaichou.

"I don't suppose she'll buy it if we tell her that we were out searching for Hollow or something like that."

He threw the idea out for discussion. But Hinamori shook her head and the thought was dismissed.

"Well, let's just get going then so we aren't even later. We'll think of something on the way."

She agreed with a brisk nod and then Hitsugaya drew his Zanpakutou.

"Dai Guren Hyorinmaru!" He called out. Instantaneously, the ice dragon appeared with a bone-clattering roar. He lay down in the snow, and Hitsugaya and Hinamori climbed onto his back. Once he knew the two were securely and safely boarded, Hyorinmaru pounded his wings and lifted off from the ground. "Well, at least we'll get there faster." Hitsugaya sighed.

"Hopefully, Matsumoto-san won't even notice." She prayed that the lieutenant would be too drunk or delusional to notice their absence.

It seemed to only take about 5 minutes getting back to Seireitei, for Hyorinmaru's swift flight had saved them some time. The Chinese dragon landed in an open field-like space only about a few minutes worth away from the division's buildings. The boy and the girl stepped off of his back, and gave their thanks.

"Arigatou." Hitsugaya said, as the dragon melted away into the sheath.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Hinamori called after him. Then the two were off and running towards Seireitei.

"Let's try to avoid my division for now." Hitsugaya suggested.

"Well, I'll just head for home now, and you go home as well. It's pretty late and Matsumoto-san is probably out to a bar at the time."

"You're right." He agreed. "But I'll have to face her sooner or later." He added.

"That's true." She contracted with a sigh. Suddenly, they heard a noise.

"Tsk tsk." A bleary voice mused.

The un-expected sound scared half of the life out of Hinamori and the two friends spun around.

"M-M-Matsumoto-san!" She squealed.

"Damn it, how does she find us every time?" Hitsugaya complained.

"Well, well, this isn't the first time you two have disappeared together for almost two full days. What exactly do you do all this time?" She grinned, stepping from the corner in front of them. "Where do you two even go where no one can see you? I wonder. But I do know that taichou can make very efficient barriers and you can both hide your reiatsus quite well…"

"Matsumoto just shut the Hell up!" Hitsugaya stormed.

"Oh-ho! Is my taichou getting defensive?" She smirked. Then she turned to Hinamori. "Please tell me Hinamori-chan! I need to know what goes on between you two. I still don't trust my taichou; he can be a bit rough sometimes. Could it be that he forces you to do things you don't want to?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!?" The white haired taichou blazed.

"Oh nothing." She grinned. "Just don't overdo it." And with that she was gone.

"W-What do you think she meant by, 'Overdo it'?" Hinamori asked him. He knew the answer to that, but just shook his head and told her to forget about it.

"Now we're screwed." He mumbled under his breath, knowing that there were going to be even more rumors floating about Soul Society the next day.

As the two kept walking, Hitsugaya was about to invite his friend over for the night, but then he glanced at her and saw just how tired she seemed to be. Her dreary eyes were half closed and her posture was a bit slouched. They were near her division's building anyway, and he did not want to make her walk all the way back to his own.

A few moments later, they stood outside of the white building with the symbol 5 marked on the side. It was dark, and thus, very late, for it was almost Spring. They stopped in front of the structure and he took her hands in his, and warmth flooded over her even as a cold breeze drifted by.

"Oy…Oyasuminasai." She yawned with a faintly beaming smile.

"Love you." He whispered and gently pecked her on the lips.

In return, she curled her arms around him in a loving hug, and he placed his hands on her back. After a minute or two, she had not moved, and Hitsugaya thought that she had fallen asleep on the spot, but then she slowly pulled back and gave him one last smile.

Then, she turned away and walked to the building, and he watched her until she had disappeared behind the sliding doors.

Then he smiled to himself and began his walk home.

'Cause I wanted to fly

So you gave me your wings

And time held its breath so I could see (so I could see) yeah

And you set me free

As Hinamori lay in her bad that night, she thought about her best friend, who meant more to her then a brother.

He had pulled her through Aizen's betrayal and he was there with her all of the way. He had opened her eyes to the truth but had not once blamed her for her actions. He was always there when she needed him, and when she did not, but that just made her cherish him even more.

She reached her hand behind her head and let her fingers run across the smooth hairpin. He would always be a part of her, even if she did not know it.

In the past, she never knew where her heart should come to lie, in whose hands, in whose care forevermore?